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The differences between owner/managers and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an owner/manager and a general manager. Additionally, an owner/manager has an average salary of $75,822, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.
The top three skills for an owner/manager include financial statements, inventory control and customer service. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.
| Owner/Manager | General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $75,822 | $71,581 |
| Hourly rate | $36.45 | $34.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 303,790 | 442,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.25 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Owners/managers are responsible for establishing a business and managing the operations once the business is running. They plan and make sure that the company has adequate financing. They also handle the initial marketing to get customers. Owners/mangers handle human resources activities, such as hiring and training employees. Once the business has launched, they start delegating activities to other employees and may also start assigning leaders to different departments. However, they still oversee the whole operation. Owners/managers are the top decision-makers and ensure that business strategies align with the goals.
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
Owner/managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Owner/Manager | General Manager | |
| Average salary | $75,822 | $71,581 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $129,000 | Between $40,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an owner/manager and a general manager in terms of educational background:
| Owner/Manager | General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between owner/managers' and general managers' demographics:
| Owner/Manager | General Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0% | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |